Consumer advocates have vowed to fight smart
grids if they boost rates for customers who are
unable or unwilling to use Web portals and allow
energy companies to control aspects of their
appliances. Advocates also argue that smart grids
represent an Orwellian intrusion of people’s right to
use their appliances as they see fit without disclosing
facts about their usage to others. A proposal by
officials in California to require all new homes to
have remotely adjustable thermostats was soundly
defeated after critics worried about the privacy
implications.